Cuba

Cuba

The Cuba national football team, known as Los Leones del Caribe (The Lions of the Caribbean), represents the island nation in international football under the governance of the Asociación de Fútbol de Cuba, affiliated with both FIFA and CONCACAF. Cuba enjoyed its greatest footballing era in the 1930s, qualifying for the 1938 FIFA World Cup and reaching the quarter-finals. More recently the team has struggled to qualify for major tournaments, with limited resources and the dominance of baseball as the national sport presenting significant challenges. Cuba has, however, won the Caribbean Cup and competes in CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification. The programme has faced emigration pressures with many players defecting to pursue professional careers abroad. Despite these difficulties, Cuba continues to develop football at grassroots level.